KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.4.19:
- The Supreme Lord, although the Lord of all followers of different paths of self-realization, is perfectly realized only by the devotees because they are above all pretensions (the pretensions are desiring to be a jnana yogi, mystic yogi, karma yogi… having desire to merge into Brahman… having any desire other than to please Krsna)
- The devotees of the Lord, only want to serve the Lord, because they know that the Lord is great and as living entities, they are eternally subordinate parts and parcels of the Lord. This perfect realization of the self by the devotee helps him to become desireless, to desire nothing for his personal self, and thus the devotees are called niṣkāmī, without any desire.
- A living entity, by his constitutional position, cannot be void of all desires, but the niṣkāmī devotees of the Lord desire everything for the satisfaction of the Lord. They are completely dependent on the orders of the Lord and are always ready to discharge their duty for the satisfaction of the Lord.
- Because Arjuna was without any pretension, he changed his decision and satisfied the Lord by agreeing to fight (kariṣye vacanaṁ tava), and thus he became desireless.
- The devotee is completely peaceful because he has no demand for himself and is always ready to serve the desire of the Lord. He is is happy in the service of the Lord, and in fact, he does not even desire liberation from the so-called material bondage. The devotees of Kṛṣṇa have no material desires, and therefore they are in perfect peace.
- As long as one has the material body, the demands of the body for sense gratification will continue. The devotee, however, is not disturbed by such desires, because of his fullness. A Kṛṣṇa conscious man is not in need of anything, because the Lord fulfills all his material necessities.
- The proof of a Kṛṣṇa conscious man – one who has lost all inclinations for material sense gratification, although the desires are present. Because he remains satisfied in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, he can remain steady, like the ocean, and therefore enjoy full peace.
- Whereas those who are after fruitive results for their pious activities, those who desire salvation…. etc., are always restless. because they want something for themselves.
- Persons acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are never deviated from the path of entirely understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- The beginning of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is association of persons who are Kṛṣṇa conscious. Such association is spiritual and puts one directly in touch with the Supreme Lord, and, by His grace, one can understand Kṛṣṇa to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- At the same time, one can really understand the constitutional position of the living entity and how the living entity forgets Kṛṣṇa and becomes entangled in material activities.
- By gradual development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in good association, the living entity can understand that due to forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa he has become conditioned by the laws of material nature.
- He can also understand that this human form of life is an opportunity to regain Kṛṣṇa consciousness and that it should be fully utilized to attain the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord.
- One must follow in the footsteps of great authorities like Brahmā, Śiva, Nārada, Manu, the Kumāras, Kapila, Prahlāda, Bhīṣma, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, Yamarāja, Janaka and Bali Mahārāja. By mental speculation, one cannot ascertain what is religion or self-realization.
SB 2.4.19 TRANSLATION:
He is the Supersoul and the Supreme Lord of all self-realized souls. He is the personification of the Vedas, religious scriptures and austerities. He is worshiped by Lord Brahmā and Śiva and all those who are transcendental to all pretensions. Being so revered with awe and veneration, may that Supreme Absolute be pleased with me.
CLASS NOTES:
THE SUPREME LORD, THE PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD, ALTHOUGH THE LORD OF ALL FOLLOWERS OF DIFFERENT PATHS OF SELF-REALIZATION, IS KNOWABLE ONLY BY THOSE WHO ARE ABOVE ALL PRETENSIONS.
Everyone is searching for eternal peace or eternal life, and with an aim to this destination everyone is either studying the Vedic scriptures or other religious scriptures or undergoing severe austerity as empiric philosophers, as mystic yogīs or as unalloyed devotees, etc. But the Supreme Lord is perfectly realized only by the devotees because they are above all pretensions.
Those who are on the path of self-realization are generally classified as karmīs, jñānīs, yogīs, or devotees of the Lord.
- The karmīs, who are much attracted by the fruitive activities of the Vedic rituals, are called bhakti-kāmī, or those who desire material enjoyment.
- The jñānīs, who try to become one with the Supreme by mental speculation, are called mukti-kāmī, or those who desire liberation from material existence.
- The mystic yogīs, who practice different types of austerities for attainment of eight kinds of material perfection and who ultimately meet the Supersoul (Paramātmā) in trance, are called siddhi-kāmī, or those who desire the perfection of becoming finer than the finest, becoming heavier than the heaviest, getting everything desired, having control over everyone, creating everything liked, etc. All these are abilities of a powerful yogī.
- But the devotees of the Lord do not want anything like that for self-satisfaction. They want only to serve the Lord because the Lord is great and as living entities they are eternally subordinate parts and parcels of the Lord. This perfect realization of the self by the devotee helps him to become desireless, to desire nothing for his personal self, and thus the devotees are called niṣkāmī, without any desire.
A LIVING ENTITY, BY HIS CONSTITUTIONAL POSITION, CANNOT BE VOID OF ALL DESIRES
(the bhukti-kāmī, mukti-kāmī and siddhi-kāmī all desire something for personal satisfaction), but the niṣkāmī devotees of the Lord desire everything for the satisfaction of the Lord. They are completely dependent on the orders of the Lord and are always ready to discharge their duty for the satisfaction of the Lord.
BECAUSE ARJUNA WAS WITHOUT ANY PRETENSION, HE CHANGED HIS DECISION AND SATISFIED THE LORD BY AGREEING TO FIGHT (KARIṢYE VACANAṀ TAVA), AND THUS HE BECAME DESIRELESS.
The examples of Brahmā and Lord Śiva are specifically cited here because Brahmājī, Lord Śiva, Śrīmatī Lakṣmījī and the four Kumāras (Sanaka, Sanātana, etc.) are leaders of the four desireless Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas. They are all freed from all pretensions. (Unalloyed devotees)
In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 19.149) it is said:
kṛṣṇa-bhakta — niṣkāma, ata eva ‘śānta’
bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī, sakali ‘aśānta’
THE DEVOTEE IS COMPLETELY PEACEFUL BECAUSE HE HAS NO DEMAND FOR HIMSELF AND IS ALWAYS READY TO SERVE THE DESIRE OF THE LORD.
Those who are after fruitive results for their pious activities, those who desire salvation and identity with the Supreme, and those who desire material perfections of mystic power are all restless because they want something for themselves, but the devotee is completely peaceful because he has no demand for himself and is always ready to serve the desire of the Lord.
Wonderful purport by SP as always. He is exemplary in his writing. Everything he writes and says is exemplary… This is also explained in BG 7.30
(BG 7.30) IN THE TRANSCENDENTAL ASSOCIATION OF KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUSNESS, ONE CAN UNDERSTAND HOW THE SUPREME LORD IS THE GOVERNING PRINCIPLE OF THE MATERIAL MANIFESTATION AND EVEN OF THE DEMIGODS.
Those in full consciousness of Me, who know Me, the Supreme Lord, to be the governing principle of the material manifestation, of the demigods, and of all methods of sacrifice, can understand and know Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even at the time of death.
Persons acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are never deviated from the path of entirely understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Everyday they try and learn something new about Krsna. When they become advanced, every hour, every minute, every second…
In the transcendental association of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can understand how the Supreme Lord is the governing principle of the material manifestation and even of the demigods. Gradually, by such transcendental association, one becomes convinced of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and at the time of death such a Kṛṣṇa conscious person can never forget Kṛṣṇa. Naturally he is thus promoted to the planet of the Supreme Lord, Goloka Vṛndāvana.
There is a saying that one should die in his boots. Hindus think that there are many GOds and they are all equal. Phony liberals, they want to make everything equal. How can you say Jeff Bezos equal to everyone, animals equal to humans, insects equal to plants… you see nothing is equal in the material world. However, the only thing that is equal everyone has an equal chance to become Krsna conscious. That is equal for everyone… The focus is on having an association with genuine devotees.
THE BEGINNING OF KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUSNESS IS ASSOCIATION OF PERSONS WHO ARE KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUS.
Such association is spiritual and puts one directly in touch with the Supreme Lord, and, by His grace, one can understand Kṛṣṇa to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At the same time one can really understand the constitutional position of the living entity and how the living entity forgets Kṛṣṇa and becomes entangled in material activities.
We have to understand both knowledge and ignorance… vidya Vinaya sampanne… Humble sage sees everyone with equal vision. In ISO it is said that one must learn both vidya and avidya… A devotee is satisfied by spreading the glories of Krsna to those who do not know about Krsna.
By gradual development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in good association, the living entity can understand that due to forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa he has become conditioned by the laws of material nature. He can also understand that this human form of life is an opportunity to regain Kṛṣṇa consciousness and that it should be fully utilized to attain the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord.
Good association and not bad association. Bad association – association with lose devotees who are not steady, sometimes they want to earn more money, sometimes they want to be Krsna Consciousness, Sometimes illicit activities. Sometimes they come for service and sometimes they do not.
HE WHO IS ACTUALLY ELEVATED IN KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUSNESS DOES NOT CARE FOR THE DIFFERENT PROCESSES.
Many subjects have been discussed in this chapter: the man in distress, the inquisitive man, the man in want of material necessities, knowledge of Brahman, knowledge of Paramātmā, liberation from birth, death and diseases, and worship of the Supreme Lord. However, he who is actually elevated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness does not care for the different processes. He simply directly engages himself in activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thereby factually attains his constitutional position as an eternal servitor of Lord Kṛṣṇa. In such a situation he takes pleasure in hearing and glorifying the Supreme Lord in pure devotional service. He is convinced that by his doing so, all his objectives will be fulfilled. This determined faith is called dṛḍha-vrata, and it is the beginning of bhakti-yoga, or transcendental loving service. That is the verdict of all scriptures.
(BG 2.70) A PERSON WHO IS NOT DISTURBED BY THE INCESSANT FLOW OF DESIRES CAN ALONE ACHIEVE PEACE,
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.
Everyday we are bombarded by some advertisements or messages which can hook us to desires… ex: Earn online masters degree, buy and sell houses… take a bite of the bait and be hooked up, Radio, internet, social media, as soon as you bite the bait you get hooked…
Although the vast ocean is always filled with water, it is always, especially during the rainy season, being filled with much more water. But the ocean remains the same – steady; it is not agitated, nor does it cross beyond the limit of its brink. That is also true of a person fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Example – Haridas Thakur – Prostitute and Mayadevi tried to tempt him, but he was not disturbed and he made them chant.. .. “Param Dristva Nivartante… “ Higher taste..
AS LONG AS ONE HAS THE MATERIAL BODY, THE DEMANDS OF THE BODY FOR SENSE GRATIFICATION WILL CONTINUE. THE DEVOTEE, HOWEVER, IS NOT DISTURBED BY SUCH DESIRES,
because of his fullness. A Kṛṣṇa conscious man is not in need of anything, because the Lord fulfills all his material necessities.
A devotee diminishes his material necessities to bare minimum..
THEREFORE HE IS LIKE THE OCEAN – ALWAYS FULL IN HIMSELF.
Desires may come to him like the waters of the rivers that flow into the ocean, but he is steady in his activities, and he is not even slightly disturbed by desires for sense gratification. That is the proof of a Kṛṣṇa conscious man – one who has lost all inclinations for material sense gratification, although the desires are present. Because he remains satisfied in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, he can remain steady, like the ocean, and therefore enjoy full peace.
OTHERS, HOWEVER, WHO WANT TO FULFILL DESIRES EVEN UP TO THE LIMIT OF LIBERATION, WHAT TO SPEAK OF MATERIAL SUCCESS, NEVER ATTAIN PEACE.
The fruitive workers, the salvationists, and also the yogīs who are after mystic powers are all unhappy because of unfulfilled desires. But the person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is happy in the service of the Lord, and he has no desires to be fulfilled. In fact, he does not even desire liberation from the so-called material bondage. The devotees of Kṛṣṇa have no material desires, and therefore they are in perfect peace.
Everyone is repeating om shanti om shanti… at the end of pooja, but there is no shanti.. Because as soon as the puja is done they are again after material desires…
Question:
Answer: Brahma and Shiva are affected by material nature, because they are in contact with material nature. Durga Devi is Shiva’ss wife and Brahma because of his powerful position, he can be affected sometimes by the mode of passion. Hence you can see them getting affected sometimes. One should not try and imitate Mahajans and one should not criticize them. Even if they make a mistake they will come back… and are determined in devotional service..
BG 4.16
Even the intelligent are bewildered in determining what is action and what is inaction. Now I shall explain to you what action is, knowing which you shall be liberated from all misfortune.
It is said that one cannot ascertain the ways of religion simply by imperfect experimental knowledge. Actually, the principles of religion can only be laid down by the Lord Himself. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (Bhāg. 6.3.19). No one can manufacture a religious principle by imperfect speculation. One must follow in the footsteps of great authorities like Brahmā, Śiva, Nārada, Manu, the Kumāras, Kapila, Prahlāda, Bhīṣma, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, Yamarāja, Janaka and Bali Mahārāja. By mental speculation one cannot ascertain what is religion or self-realization. Therefore, out of causeless mercy to His devotees, the Lord explains directly to Arjuna what action is and what inaction is. Only action performed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can deliver a person from the entanglement of material existence.
BG 9.30
Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination.
On the other hand, one should not misunderstand that a devotee in transcendental devotional service can act in all kinds of abominable ways; this verse only refers to an accident due to the strong power of material connections. Devotional service is more or less a declaration of war against the illusory energy. As long as one is not strong enough to fight the illusory energy, there may be accidental falldowns. But when one is strong enough, he is no longer subjected to such falldowns, as previously explained. No one should take advantage of this verse and commit nonsense and think that he is still a devotee. If he does not improve in his character by devotional service, then it is to be understood that he is not a high devotee.
Brahma and Shiva they rectify their mistake immediately and they are genuine devotees. If we use this verse to continually break the rules and regulations, then we are rascal number one.